Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 10,894 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,310 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,894 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $35,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,423,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,116,318. The company has a 50 day moving average of $171.91 and a 200 day moving average of $164.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $248.81.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.65.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.